The success in any form of Art, be it music, or dance or painting has a lot to do with its basics. The very fiber of the Art depends upon how strong your basics or foundation is.
In my years of journey in the transparent medium, I have never known the importance of keeping a small Watercolor sketchbook, until I came upon this global community called “Urban Sketchers”. These awesome artists who would call themselves “Urban Sketchers” would keep small sketchbooks in their bags, while they travel.
I found that idea of sketching anywhere & anything very interesting.
So I bought a Moleskine Watercolor Journal & started painting on it. To my surprise, I soon began seeing some really positive outcome & stayed more motivated than ever.
Therefore, I recommend you to start maintaining a sketchbook apart from the large format single sheet works that you do.
To support my recommendation, I present below 10 reasons to keep a Sketchbook, if you want to grow faster in Watercolor medium:
1. The daily habit of painting is taken care of:
In Watercolors, practice is the key to success. But when you are not a full-time artist,like most of us, you miss this essential part i.e practice, due to obvious reasons. But when you have a sketchbook handy, you don’t need a ton of extra motivation to start sketching. You simply tend to doodle around in the pages even when you are travelling or sitting at an airport. Once some other important task comes up, you simply fold the sketchbook, put it in your bag & keep going. Basically what I meant to say is that your daily habit of sketching is taken care of when you keep a sketchbook.
2. Not essentially public:
Your sketchbook is not essentially public. Take it as your personal diary. Sketch things, write what you feel. Simply express. Express without the fear of judgement. You may choose to keep it private & hence you overcome the fear of making mistakes. Or simply your mistakes get improvised(in a positive way) & makes you more skilled, which can then be shown through bigger format works.
3. Lets you experiment:
This is very similar to the reason number 2 mentioned above. Sketchbook lets you experiment with how you interpret a story, a vision or simply an imagination. And with limitation of space & other tools, your brain simply learns how to express a thought in the simplest & purest manner.
4. Your journey of getting your signature style gets easier:
Due to the reason numbers 1,2 & 3 mentioned above, your journey to getting your signature style in painting watercolors gets shorter. You reach there super-fast without even knowing when. Having a signature style is what will make you stand out in the crowd of thousands of artists out there. You can never reach too far by imitating someone else’s style.
For more knowledge on how to get your signature style in watercolors, you may check out this post I have written.
How to get your own style in Watercolors?
5. You paint at your own pace:
Painting at your own pace gives you a different sense of peace. One of your primary objectives of keeping a sketchbook would be for your inner-peace. This sketchbook should make you feel positive & productive. You will not be in any urgency to paint yet be willing to paint more on the sketchbook. That is your pace. It may be too fast or too slow for someone. But that will be your pace.
6. You stay motivated:
You stay motivated all the time. Imagine you are travelling somewhere & see something beautiful. It may be as simple as a just served, well decorated/presented food on your table. You simply take out your sketchbook & doodle it for 5mins, apply 2 watercolor washes & write your thoughts on it. Wouldn’t it bring a sense of accomplishment & productiveness in you? Wouldn’t it make you happy & help you stay motivated?
On the other-hand, you will never paint your just served food on your table in big format because of the obvious fear of eating cold meal.
7. Well documented painting journey timeline:
Your sketchbooks are a well documented timeline of your progress as an artist. You will easily compare your works from initial days with the works you did today. Isn’t it a happiness to see how you grew over the years? I am sure it is.
Mark my words, these sketchbooks will be one among your most prized possession as an artist.
8. You learn to tell stories through a painting:
The art of storytelling through Art is a very different game altogether. If your works don’t tell a story or express an emotion, it’s simply boring for the viewer as well as you.
But with the habit of keeping a sketchbook, you learn how to express an emotion, or simply tell a story.
“I tell my everyday stories through Watercolor sketches and having a Sketchbook helps me in capturing a moment quickly anywhere. It helps me experiment with thumbnail sketches of different locations. Also a great way to maintain the daily habit of painting”-Sweta Kaushik, Watercolor Artist, Delhi
Do checkout her awesome Instagram profile, which is full of Watercolor tutorials & tips: Watercolor.Consultant
9. Effortless stressbuster:
We will all agree that painting in watercolors is such a great stressbuster. Keeping a Watercolor sketchbook enhances that experience by making it easy to paint whenever & wherever you want. Suppose you are in a different city for a business meeting & had a rough day. You reach your hotel room & is in great stress. And let’s say that, one among the few things which can de-stress you is painting in watercolors. Don’t you think that the idea of having a sketchbook as your mini studio can be of such great help in this situation? You simply take out your sketchbook, mini palette, a number 6 round brush & a cup of water to paint the city you see from your hotel window. Within 5 minutes, your stress is gone.
10. You learn to paint in extreme situations & adverse conditions:
Just as mentioned in the previous point, with the habit of keeping a sketchbook, you learn how to paint even in extreme situations & adverse conditions. This boosts up your confidence & helps you overcome the Artist’s block which generally everyone suffers once in a while. You don’t need a particular creative mood to start painting. You are now simply programmed to tackle stress.
The points mentioned above are from my own experiences. Everyone might have their own reasons to start keeping a Watercolor sketchbook. Now a days, I try to replace the task of “taking a photograph of a memory/event” with “a sketch of a memory/event”. It’s simply more special that way for me.
But whatever be the reason, you should definitely try keeping a good handy sketchbook in your bag wherever you travel.
Happy Painting & do share your views as well as pictures of your travel sketchbook in the comments section.
NB: This post contains an Amazon Affiliate link, meaning if you make a purchase in Amazon by clicking this link, I get a tiny commission from Amazon at no extra cost to you.
Image Credit & Copyrights: Namchai Saensupha & Mukta Changmai
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